Facebook Settles With FTC On Charges It Deceived Users On Privacy

The FTC claims that Facebook “deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public.”

In its press release, the FTC listed many of Facebook’s alleged failings. In December 2009, for example, Facebook made public some information like friends list without getting users’ approval. The FTC claims Facebook also told users it would not share information with advertisers but it did and in another instance Facebook allowed some apps to have access to nearly all of a users personal information, which the apps did not need to operate.

Under the agreement with the FTC, Facebook is barred “from making any further deceptive privacy claims, requires that the company get consumers’ approval before it changes the way it shares their data, and requires that it obtain periodic assessments of its privacy practices by independent, third-party auditors for the next 20 years.”